The Maurin Academy exists to give curious people an easily accessible path to learning more about the important issues of our time. We strongly believe that society needs a path beyond the classical liberal framework that has left the majority of people unsatisfied, often feeling like they are living on the edge while others disregard people and our environment. We need a vision that can address the fact that all human beings should be valued and cared for because of their intrinsic value. We are not satisfied with mere materialism and self-interest. We need a new social imaginary that realizes the power of the human intellect and spirit and sees the material world as something to treasure and cultivate rather than dominate and exploit.
2025 was our fourth year as a nonprofit organization offering low-cost classes, reading groups, and a lecture series through Patreon, as well as our free podcasts (Dustbowl Diatribes, Political Philosophy, and now Midnight Lands). We strive to give people a collaborative university-level experience for people who aren’t seeking credit, just knowledge gained through listening and dialogue. The Maurin Academy has grown in its support for the John Paul II Catholic Worker Farm in Kansas City, MO, too, and hopes to bring you more information about our food system, local agriculture and direct action related to the farm as next year unfolds.
We will soon be announcing our early Spring classes on our website, including one on Jacques Maritain and Anti-Modern Progress, and one on Giorgio Agamben’s Homo Sacer (Bare Life), on how modern states strip individuals of political rights, reducing them to “bare life.” For now, I’d like to ask, for those of you who can help us, will you help us by either becoming a paid follower of the Academy on Patreon, and/or by giving a one time tax-deductible gift before December 31 to help us keep going in 2026. Your support and encouragement, no matter whether you can help us financially or not, is deeply appreciated.